When children go to school, they receive much more than an education. They get to socialize with their peers, learn how to regulate emotion, and figure out how to navigate their way through society. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that today’s children have struggled with the shift to schooling-from-home. Here are four reasons why distance learning can be complicated.
-
Lack of Structure and Support
Society has been packing students into classrooms for centuries and across all cultures because it works. The school environment and all the adults employed within all have one purpose: to teach. A child in a classroom has a teacher on task, peers to look up to, and a set daily routine. There are resources, such as tutoring and testing, for students who fall behind. All of that goes away when you displace the student from the classroom to the home.
-
Too Much Text-Based Content
Distance learning relies heavily on emails, paper packets, and other text-based content, which can be a struggle for students who don’t learn by reading alone. To curb this, teachers have to creatively accommodate different learning styles in their at-home lessons to keep all students engaged.
Video lessons can help students who learn better by hearing than by reading. Incorporating technology is another way to engage mid-elementary students, who are more independent and developing their interests. For example, an online resource like Adobe Education Exchange has great 4th grade science projects that are both educational and relevant to the world they live in.
Read Also: 6 Ways to Boost Your Resilience at Work
-
Circumstances Changed but Expectations Haven’t
Students are still expected to absorb hours of education and turn in their homework on time, but it isn’t always possible. In the past few years, practically everything about everyday life has been turned upside down for kids growing up.
Some families may be dealing with job loss, sickness, and other forms of stress. Normal activities like sports games and birthday parties require more planning and preparation. With all the extra stuff they need to process, it’s no wonder why so many students have difficulty with distance learning.
-
Too Many Distractions
There are a lot of things going on in a student’s home. For example, parents may be working from home alongside siblings who are also doing their distance learning. The television remote is within reach, with no one to stop them from straying off task.
Without a teacher standing nearby to redirect their focus, students can easily become bored or procrastinate on assignments. Instead, their new learning environment is another reminder of how things have changed over the past few years, hindering attentiveness.
How to Help Students
Today, students need more support than ever before to become successful learners. When they don’t have a teacher in the room with them, they seem to struggle more. Utilizing technology, such as video calls and resources like Adobe Education Exchange, can help teachers bridge the distance gap.